Fernand Lopez was visibly emotional after Ciryl Gane’s title fight with heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall came to an end.
Gane (13-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) vs. Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) was waived off toward the end of Round 1 when Gane accidentally poked Aspinall in the eye and rendered him unable to continue in Saturday’s UFC 321 headliner. Aspinall was transported to the hospital after the fight.
Gane was landing solid shots, including a jab that bloodied Aspinall’s nose. Daniel Cormier, who was commentating the event, got Lopez’s immediate thoughts after the fight.
“As soon as possible,” Lopez told Cormier of wanting the rematch. “I mean, Ciryl looked good there. For us, everything was going as planned. Absolutely planned. Unfortunately, if he can’t see, he can’t see. There’s nothing we can do about it. But again, so disappointed. So disappointed because today he knows that was his day. Today, he knew he would outwrestle this guy. He knew that.”
Gane was a big underdog against Aspinall but proved he belonged after a back-and-forth round in which he also stuffed Aspinall’s first takedown attempt. The UFC plans on booking an immediate rematch after Aspinall is cleared.
